RARE INSIGHTS

Cambridge-based healthcare company Sobi has been publicly recognised by Great Place to Work® as one of the UK’s Best Workplaces™ in the Small [20-49 employees] category in their annual ranking. The Best Workplace™ awards, announced last night, are considered the 'gold standard' of employer awards and publicly recognise Sobi as a great employer, brand and business.

Sobi earned the rare achievement that 100% of Sobi employees said that theirs is a ‘great place to work’. The company also received a score of 93% in the Trust Index, a growth of 9% over the previous year. The methodology behind the ranking is one of the most rigorous available, comprising an employee survey and an audit into organisations’ management and HR practices.

Neil Dugdale, UK General Manager at Sobi said: “We are enormously proud to be formally recognised for our commitment to developing our people and introducing numerous initiatives to improve employee performance, work-life balance and well-being. Whilst this success makes us immensely proud we will continue to listen to our employees and find ways to further improve to continue to help many people affected by rare diseases.”

2016 at Sobi saw the introduction of many initiatives including an innovative employee forum managed by, and confidential to, its employees. Actions were taken to improve work-life balance such as a review of travel and nights away from home. In addition, employee well-being was enhanced through mindfulness training, optional weekly yoga in head office and a comprehensive private health check and health action plan.

CEO of Great Place to Work® Tom O’Byrne said: “It is a validation of the strength of Sobi’s leadership and their commitment to creating the kind of culture which attracts and retains the best talent and where people have pride in what they do and want to do their best. The hallmark of a great workplace like Sobi is that their policies and practices are designed around the employee; this employee focus helps attract and retain the talent essential for driving and sustaining competitive performance. It is no coincidence that high trust organisations like Sobi also tend to perform better than their peers.”

About Sobi™Sobi is an international specialty healthcare company dedicated to rare diseases. Sobi’s mission is to develop and deliver innovative therapies and services to improve the lives of patients. The product portfolio is primarily focused on Haemophilia, Inflammation and Genetic diseases. Sobi also markets a portfolio of specialty and rare disease products across Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and Russia for partner companies. Sobi is a pioneer in biotechnology with world-class capabilities in protein biochemistry and biologics manufacturing. In 2016, Sobi had total revenues of SEK 5.2 billion (USD 608 M) and about 760 employees. The share (STO: SOBI) is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm. More information is available at www.sobi.com

About Great Place to Work®Great Place to Work® UK is a consultancy specialising in workplace culture, helping organisations to create exceptional, high performing workplaces where employees feel trusted and valued. They help employers improve recruitment, retention and productivity by putting employees at the heart of the organisation, analysing what they think and feel and identifying the real issues that need to be addressed. Part of a global organisation, they apply data and insights from over 7,000 organisations across the world to benchmark individual performance and advise employers on how to continuously improve employee engagement and wellbeing and so help build and sustain business performance. They run the Best Workplaces™ awards to enable the organisations they work with celebrate their achievements, build their employer brand and inspire others to take action. They share their learnings through research and publications at national, regional and global level, as well as through conferences and events.

To see the 2017 Best Workplaces™ list and to learn more about how to build a high-trust, high-performing workplace culture, visit www.greatplacetowork.co.uk